Level I Pennsylvania instructional and education specialist certificates are valid for 6 years of service, not calendar years. All the following requirements must be met in order to convert a Level I to Level II according to CSPG 7.
Note: Educators who hold a certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards may be issued a Level II certification comparable in grade scope and content area to the National Board certificate. If an individual applies for a Level II certificate in an area not comparable in grade scope and content area to the National Board certificate, the application must be reviewed by PDE's Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality Director for approval.
| Level I to Level II | Act 48 Continuing Education |
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The 24 semester-hour credits required for Level II certification must be earned after the conferral of the initial bachelor's degree. A minimum of 6 of the 24 credits must be in the content area of the Level I certificate or in something that improves professional practice. Credits completed after the conferral of the initial bachelor' degree that meet the requirements below will be accepted even if the credits were completed to obtain initial certification.
- Graduate or undergraduate credits earned at a regionally or nationally accredited or state-approved associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree-granting institution.
- Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)-approved credits (not Act 48 hours) offered by intermediate units submitted on letterhead with a raised seal.
For further guidance on the credits required for Level II, see CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.
See Level II Certification Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.
Special Notes:
- PDE does not receive your transcripts with an instate program completion application. You MUST submit your official transcripts as required documents. If submitting transcripts electronically, do not submit your transcript request until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
- Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality does not use transcripts submitted to the Act 48 office for Level II review.
- Credits in the fields of medicine, law, theology, or real estate are not acceptable unless the educator can present evidence of relevance to his/her certification area and assignment.
A Level I certificate is valid for six years of service working in Pennsylvania’s public school entities, APS, or PK-Counts approved facilities. Validity is defined as service years, not calendar years. Service years are the maximum years the educator may be employed on a Level I. Periods of time in which the holder is not working on the certificate in PA do not count against the life of the certificate.
Below is an example of a certificate without a calculated expiration date. In this example, the Level I is valid for the specified number of years of service, not calendar years. The certificate holder and the employing school entity are responsible for keeping track of the number of service years completed on the Level I.
In order to convert to Level II, three years of satisfactory service is required and defined as:
- service in Pennsylvania
- full-time service (see CSPG 7 for definition of full-time)
- actual teaching time, not calendar years, from the date Level I was issued
More detailed information regarding service requirements (mandatory and optional) can be found in CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.
See Level II Certification Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.
Special Notes:
- All instructional subject areas will convert to Level II regardless of subject area of service. Instructional areas have a total of 6 service years combined.
- All education specialist subject areas convert as single subject areas.
- Service under an ESL Program Specialist counts against the 6 years of your Level I instructional certificate.
- Work experience data may not be complete or accurate in TIMS. IT IS YOUR RESPONISIBLITY TO EDIT OR ADD WORK EXPERIENCE.
- Level II certification requires completion of a PDE-approved induction program to include a mentoring component for all newly employed professional educators.
- Public school entities in PA are required to provide a PDE-approved induction program. Induction completed out of state cannot be substituted for the PA required induction.
- Private school entities are not required to provide a PDE-approved induction program, but this requirement still needs to be met in order to obtain a Level II certificate. Contact your employer to verify if they have a PDE-approved induction program.
- If you have not completed a PDE-approved induction or are unsure if you have, contact your employer.
- For additional information on policies and guidelines, please see CSPG 20-Induction.
- A recommendation for Level II permanent certification from the superintendent or chief school administrator based on a satisfactory Level I to Level II assessment, Form PDE-427, affirms satisfactory completion of the assessment required for Level II certification.
- Assessments are verified electronically through TIMS or if applicable, on the PDE 338P form. Do not submit the assessment forms.
- Both satisfactory and unsatisfactory service counts against the validity of a Level I certificate.
For further information, refer to CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification
Three (3) years of Pennsylvania satisfactory service in a PA public school entity.
- Service is verified by your employer(s) electronically through TIMS by PA public school entities.
- Work experience already in TIMS may not be complete or accurate. It is your responsibility to edit or add work experience into your TIMS application.
- Form 338P is required to report service with any PA school (private) not found in TIMS and can be uploaded directly into your Level II application. This form must be signed by the Superintendent or CSA of the school. A completed form is required for each employer not found in TIMS but indicated in the application.
Twenty four (24) postbaccalaureate credits – transcripts can be submitted by:
- Contacting your university/college and requesting they mail a transcript to you. Upon receipt, mail transcript in the unopened college envelope along with the TIMS application cover sheet to the address on the cover sheet.
- Contacting your university/college and requesting the transcripts be emailed DIRECTLY to PDE to the ra-teachercert@pa.gov account. Transcripts must be submitted in the name on your TIMS application to utilize the electronic method. Do not submit your request for electronic transcripts until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
- Contacting your intermediate unit and requesting original IU letters that have the IU raised seal. Mail original letters to PDE along with the TIMS application cover sheet. IU letters do not need to be submitted in a sealed envelope.
Induction
- Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the 338P form if applicable.
Assessments
- Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the 338P form if applicable.
Upon completion of the requirements, submit an application in TIMS for your Level II following the instructions under Help With TIMS for generating and submitting an application.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Documents should not be submitted to PDE until you have generated, paid for, and submitted your application in TIMS. All documents should be submitted with the TIMS application cover sheet that you print out AFTER you have successfully submitted your application in TIMS. Our address is located at the bottom of the cover sheet.